Melanie Bacaling of Gurnee Wins University of Evansville's Gumberts Award Competition

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Melanie Bacaling of Gurnee, Illinois, the 2013 winner of the University of Evansville's Gumberts Award Competition.

EVANSVILLE, IN (04/24/2013)(readMedia)-- Melanie Bacaling, a native of Gurnee, Illinois, has been named the winner of the prestigious 36th annual Gumberts Award Competition in the University of Evansville's Department of Music.

Bacaling, a soprano, was one of four senior music majors selected by department faculty to perform in the recital, which took place Tuesday, April 23 in UE's Wheeler Concert Hall. At the conclusion of the recital, a panel of local judges deemed Bacaling's performance the most outstanding.

Bacaling, a graduate of Warren Township High School, is a vocal performance and psychology double-degree candidate who will graduate next Saturday, May 4. Throughout her time at the University of Evansville, Bacaling has been an avid performer, participating in the University Choir, UE Schmidt Opera Series, and Kantorei. Bacaling has been a featured soloist with UE Men's Chorus, is the cantor for Evansville Aldersgate United Methodist Church, and is in her third year as the director of music ministry for UE Newman Club Mass.

Bacaling was named the Presser Scholar for 2012-13, an honor awarded by the Presser Foundation for outstanding achievement in the UE Department of Music. This award, along with the Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant Award, allowed her to travel to Salzburg, Austria in Summer 2012 to study the life and works of W.A. Mozart with Wolfgang Fuchsburger of the Mozarteum University.

Bacaling's other awards and honors include first place in the senior women division of Kentucky's National Association of Teachers of Singing competition, Academic Achievement Scholarship, the Dodd Musician Endowment Scholarship, and Dean's Scholarship. In addition to her music achievements, Bacaling is active on UE's campus, having served for two years as the president of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority and the president of Student Alumni Ambassadors.

This fall, she plans to pursue a Master of Music degree in vocal pedagogy at the Boston Conservatory of Music.

The University of Evansville is a private, liberal arts-based university with a full-time undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2,400. UE's diverse student body represents 42 states and 46 countries. U.S. News & World Report recognizes UE as a top 10 master's-granting university in the Midwest, and third in the region for "Great Schools, Great Prices." For more information, please visit http://www.evansville.edu.